Phoenix Rising dropped points again in Colorado Springs, recording a 1-1 draw against the league’s defending champion. Jearl Margaritha opened the scoring just 11 minutes into the match, before Anthony Fontana equalized in the second half for the hosts.

Dream start for Jearl Margaritha turns sour

Phoenix Rising had never scored at the new Weidner Field. That is, until Jearl Margaritha’s strike just 11 minutes into the contest.

Starting on the right in a front three with Dariusz Formella and Ihsan Sacko, Margaritha capitalized from 16 yards out to put the visitors in the drivers seat.

Then, just seven minutes later, he was subbed off due to apparent injury.

It remains unclear the nature or the extent of Margaritha’s injury, although the winger did also miss two games at the start of the season due to injury.

Rémi Cabral entered the match as his replacement, with the substitute occupying the center-forward spot while Sacko was moved out wide.

Rising again unable to capitalize on chances

Even after Jearl Margaritha’s goal, Rising found ways to create chances.

The problem, however, was in actually putting them away.

“You sit down with a little bit of frustration,” Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah said in team-released quotes after the match. “I think we should have finished the game because the chances we had and created. The boys fought very hard, but they left some opportunities.”

Rising finished the match with over two expected goals, yet only one more shot on target after Margaritha’s opener.

Rémi Cabral notably failed to hit the target on a 64th minute breakaway. In stoppage time, he started another breakaway, only to be disrupted by an Abraham Romero handball that saw the Colorado Springs goalkeeper sent off.

Defensive miscue gives the hosts their share

Rising offered a first start to new defensive loanee Ascel Essengue, who played the full 90 minutes in Colorado Springs alongside Carl Sainté.

“Ascel was unbelievable,” Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “I thought he brought composure and calmness into the back line. Again, it was a new back line, a new pairing. He was massive both on and off the ball defensively.”

For much of the game, Switchbacks huffed and puffed, but did little to threaten Patrick Rakovsky in the Rising goal. However, the hosts still posted a tally of 1.41 expected goals.

Colorado Springs found their breakthrough in the second half. Casual marking from Noble Okello helped Yosuke Hanya to cut an inviting ball across for Anthony Fontana, who sent the ball home without much pressure.

Owain’s take

Another game, another missed opportunity.

For the second straight match, Phoenix Rising’s wastefulness in front of goal takes center stage. For a team that produced 15 shots in total, the challenge to Abraham Romero was simply not sufficient.

The bigger concern, though, is yet another potential addition to the injury list. Jearl Margaritha is the heartbeat of this team’s attack in a lot of ways. He’s one of the most dynamic forwards the league has to offer. For a team already struggling in terms of availability in other parts of the pitch, losing Margaritha feels like a gut punch.

Elsewhere, it’s poor defensive organization that costs Rising points once again. The time and space afforded to Colorado Springs on the ball for their equalizer felt nothing short of a comedy routine.

It is, of course, still early. Rising was up to 6th in the live standings at one point in the evening, and even now, they’re only five points back on the home playoff positions. It isn’t as though this season is a lost cause by any stretch of the imagination.

Still, the longer this drags on, the more restless everyone involved with the club is going to become. We’re now over a quarter of the way into the league season, and the team still only has one win to show for it. At the moment, Phoenix is averaging just 0.88 points per game. If promotion and relegation had already been implemented in USL, Rising would be looking down the table with concern.

For now, the attention turns to the U.S. Open Cup. A win on Wednesday against MLS opposition, especially with a depleted squad that we know cannot feature either Rémi Cabral or Ascel Essengue, would do wonders for confidence. At the same time, a loss really isn’t fatal, and frankly shouldn’t be held against this team or its management.

But if Rising does come away with a loss against Houston? Expect the pressure to start creeping up just a little as they take on a wounded animal in rivals New Mexico United the following weekend.